Floating? What is it? This is where the nurse, is directed at the behest of the staffing office, to "float" to another care unit, either because their own unit is over-staffed, or another place in the hospital is under-staffed. I would contend that most "unit-based" nurses despise this, because they love working in their home unit. For me, the worse place to float to was the Emergency Room. We were a Trauma Level I hospital and that E.R. was hell in chaos. I always did the best I could under any circumstances, but that float assignment always caused me anxiety.

When Float Is The Theme

You probably won't like it
You'll feel like a turd,
You don't need the experience
When float is the word,
You'll be asked to do things
That you normally wouldn't,
And you'll be ostracized
When you claim that you couldn't.

The demons of staffing
Expect you to play,
Whether you like it or not
Just do as they say,
Or they'll mete out a punishment
That is far worse than rotten,
You'll be sent to the
Emergency-Room and forgotten.

Your life will become
A nightmarish dream,
That's the way things can go
When float is the theme.

Fibril_late; 5/93